Diagnosing a flaky TPS will be tough with a DVM. You're looking for a smooth, linear response as the pot sweeps through its range. Easy with an analog meter but not so much with a digital meter.

Not a fan of shotgunning parts but TBs are pretty cheap at the junkyard. I think I paid $20 for one when I did the F23 swap. If you go that route then I'd suggest pulling one from an automatic car.I wouldn't think so. Even if the wiper on the pot were all gunked up it still shouldn't take much force to move it, compared to the force of the return spring. How did you adapt the throttle cable bracket to fit on the F23's plenum? Maybe there's a cable geometry problem. Posting a pic of the bracket might be helpful.

 

on my profile i have pics of it. I see in the fsm it says the tps is not removable. funny though in another part it says to replace the part if its defective and you can buy the piece separate. I guess id have to get the tb from a junkyard. thats not so hard though.

And by how heavy it feels im wondering if its more of the fact that there is more air rushing through the tb and so the throttle feels heavy and other times theres not- all because the ecu is getting different readings from the tps. Ill test it and then from there try a new tb. Reading more on it this seems pretty plausible.

 

You know a bad tps would explain the delayed idle too right? when the car goes into neutral after a higher rpm it will stick at 1000rpm and then slowly drop to 750.

 

Sure it could. I don't recall you mentioning anything in this thread about an idle problem. I'm guessing the TPS is a wire-wound carbon pot. Carbon resistors typically fail by opening up with temp changes, which might explain your cold vs. hot throttle response issue. Hanging while idling down: I guess the pot could have a rough spot on it and/or hunks of carbon getting in the way. Ran across pic's from a TPS thread on a Civic forum:

honda-tech(dot)com/showthread.php?t=2947986

...showing a TPS gunked up with carbon.

Again, I'm not a fan of the "replacing parts" method of diagnosing problems but I think in this case there's little risk in doing so. $20 or $30 for a used TB plus a few bucks for new gasket plus an hour or so of your time. If it doesn't fix it you're not out all that much in $ and time.

 

ive mentioned the issues in other threads trying to get to the route of the problems.

but yeah, the junkyards have return policies too so its a safe bet. I can check the resistance of the tps before i go too. thats a great write up too, i bookmarked it. i think i will buy another tb anyways and do this to it.

Now as far as the spike in intake temp. 100 degree IM air temp from a 30 to 50 degree intake pipe temp. That seem like a high jump? or could that be a contribution to too much air traveling too slow in the IM with a bad tps reading- that is the tps could be closed less than the ecu thinks so the air stays in the im a bit more and causes it to heat up higher than it should.

were you able to see my pics to see the set up?

 

I don't have a clue about intake temps. My only frame of reference is the IAT Temp vs. Ω chart in the FSM. That chart shows 150°F is right in the center of the degree range, and looks like the IAT should measure about 750Ω at that temp.

I can see it but it's not real close up. It looks like the cable angle-to-TB is about the same as mine.

A second thought regarding the TPS hanging the thottle action and making it hard to push. There's an easy way to check. Disconnect the throttle cable(s) from the TB and turn the shaft by hand. You're still working against the return spring, but it should turn fairly easily and smoothly. If there's any notchiness or hangups when turning it in either direction then you might just be right about a deteriorating TPS impeding the throttle opening and closing. Compare the movement of yours to a junkyard TB to see if there's a difference.

 

Yeah, ill definitely do that. maybe tomorrow if its not freezing cold. Ill update this once all is done. Looking back at my pictures I dont have a close up of the upper manifold area that is updated. Funny, my engine bay reminds me of my apartment- theres a method to that madness :P I adjusted the tb cable bracket and put in a tb spacer. Ill update with pictures too.
Thanks, youve given me a great lead to go with.

 

I think the ECU will translate the TPS raw voltage into a %, so you're probably looking for the TPS to go smoothly from 0% to 100% as you smoothly open the throttle. If the % reading jumps around, then you can get serious about looking at the actual voltages at the TPS itself.

 

Yeah I was thinking that. Problem is the program I have goes through it in intervals. I can get the readings once every half second or so but I cant get a smooth transition to show up like i was able to with my ultra-gauge. RIP i loved that thing...

 

So I did a TPS calibration with one that came off an automatic ex, I didnt see a big difference though. It all just keeps going back to 'normal' but the throttle response goes back to feeling like i have a 1.8 in the thing. Once it hits vtec theres power, but that low end torque comes for a moment then goes away. So its not the TPS, maybe its still temperature related. What would cause I got air intake if the air going in is significantly cooler?